


The Secret's Out

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Series: Tumblr Prompts [20]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Gun Violence, M/M, Secret Identity, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 23:25:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16796782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: Alec is undercover. He knows the rules. He knows better to get involved with someone... or at least, he should. And he remembers why those rules are in place when Valentine's men kidnap Magnus.





	The Secret's Out

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Prompt: (...)basically Secret identity in wich Alec is a secret agent or something and doesn't tells Magnus to protect them but then the bad guys take Magnus and he has to rescue him and tell him

This can’t be happening. 

Alec doesn’t lose his cool often. Or ever, for that matter. And outwardly now is no exception: his face is a blank mask of determination, impassive and entirely absent of the inner turmoil he feels. Internally, his heart races so fast he can feel the thumps of his pulse in his own ears while he moves silently through the halls of the warehouse. 

How did they find him?

How did they find  _ Magnus? _

He knew he should’ve left the moment he started to develop feelings for the gorgeous bartender at the hole-in-the-wall bar by his temporary apartment. Instead he came back every night he knew the man with the perfect eyeliner would be working - which wasn’t difficult to figure out, as Magnus was a creature of habit in his schedule. One thing lead to another and soon Alec was lingering well past closing until they were the only two left. 

And, well, yeah. Mistakes were made. Beautiful, passionate mistakes. 

He should’ve left then, back when it was just physical, but he allowed himself to fall for Magnus. God _ dammit _ , he broke the cardinal rule of undercover work. He got attached. Did he ever imagine this would end in anything other than heartache? 

But having to leave once the mission’s over, that’s one thing. Having Valentine’s goons abduct his clueless boyfriend on his way home from work is another. Magnus doesn’t deserve either of those outcomes, but if any physical harm comes to him because of Alec he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to forgive himself. 

He stills when he hears voices reach him from a room at the end of the hall. 

“I’m not asking again - where is Lightwood?” The voice is very ‘tough guy’, rough and guttural. It’s accompanied by a fist slamming on a table for emphasis. 

“I already  _ told you _ , I don’t know who you’re talking about!” The reply is muffled and edged with fear, and Alec’s stomach drops at the sound of Magnus’ voice. He moves quickly but quietly, rolling his steps to avoid any too-audible movements. 

“Maybe these will jog your memory, then.” Alec arrives at the doorway and brings out a mirror, angling it so he can see inside without exposing himself. He watches as two men easily twice his size rip a black bag roughly off of Magnus’ head so he can see his surroundings, and Magnus is sitting at a table, hands tied behind him to the chair he’s on. He looks down at something on the table. 

“...Gideon?” 

Alec winces. They must be photos of him. 

One of the burly men laughs. Alec recognizes them as two of Valentine’s best henchmen, visibly armed to the teeth.  _ Fuck _ .

“Gideon? Is that what he’s calling himself these days?” 

“I don’t understand…” Magnus sounds more confused than afraid now. 

“That’s Alexander Lightwood. I don’t know what he told you, but every word of it was a lie, so if you’re trying to protect him you can stop now, because that guy doesn’t give a shit about you.”

“In fact,” the second man chimes in. “We even told him we had you here, but I doubt he’ll be bothered to so much as look up the address, let alone--” His words end abruptly with the sound of a gunshot echoing in the large, mostly empty room. There’s a moment of stunned silence followed by a scream of pure agony at the bullet wound precisely aimed through his right knee, sending him down to the concrete below.

One down. One to go. 

“Gideon?” Magnus’s hands pull frantically against the ropes holding them behind him. 

“Hey Magnus.” Alec takes several more steps into the room. One against one, he can handle, and-- oh. It doesn’t take long for the sound of footsteps to sound from the hallway behind him - two sets, to be exact. Even with one man down he’s about to be outnumbered 3-to-1 and Alec mentally prepares for the fact that even if he survives this encounter by some small miracle, Herondale is going to have his head for going in without backup. “I’m really sorry about this.” 

He’s completely exposed. 

“You shot him,” Magnus says in shock, staring dumbly at the man on the ground. “Gideon -- or Alexander, or  _ whoever  _ you are --” 

“It’s a long story. Maybe you can let me tell you after I get both of us out of here alive, alright?” Alec tries to keep his words even, unwilling to expose the fear he feels. He uses it to his advantage instead, turning it into a rush of adrenaline that fuels his swift movements. Alec turns his back on the man closest to Magnus to put a bullet in one of the two men attempting to sneak up on him from behind, ducking as he spins swiftly on the balls of his feet, crouching low to the ground just as the man by the table shoots three rounds at where Alec’s head used to be. But instead of finding Alec, he catches the fourth bodyguard by the door instead. 

Three down. One to go… again. 

“Thanks,” Alec tells the man by the table, daring a mocking wink in his direction. 

Big mistake. 

The man turns his gun away from Alec and fixes it on Magnus instead and Alec’s heart skips a beat, breath catching in his chest. He tries not to let it show on his face but he’s too late. 

“Well, it looks like the infamous Alexander Lightwood went and got himself a  _ weakness _ . Thanks for making my job easier.” The man steps closer to where Magnus still struggles against the rope holding him to the chair and Alec takes a step forward in return. 

“Don’t,” he says, trying to sound forceful, but betrayed by the hint of desperation that creeps through. “You wanted to draw me out, here I am.” He shifts the gun in his hand, holding it loosely upside-down by the handle in surrender. “I’m who you want, so let him go.” At least this way he won’t have to face Herondale, he thinks bitterly. It’ll all be over soon enough. 

“No, you can’t-” Magnus starts to protest, no longer struggling as he looks at Alec in wide-eyed horror once he realizes what he’s doing. 

“Quiet,” Alec snaps. He doesn’t need Magnus worrying about him, he needs him to focus on getting out of here once it’s clear. 

“Drop the gun,” Valentine’s man orders, and Alec nods, switching the safety on before dropping the weapon to the ground at his feet. “Now kick it over.” Alec obeys, trying to calculate the distance between them and what his chances are of reaching him before he’d get a shot off. They’re not great. 

“I told you to stop walking home alone this late at night,” Alec mutters in Magnus’ direction. 

“I thought it was just because the neighborhood was shitty, not because  _ you were some secret agent that I’d be bait for.”  _ Magnus half-whispers back. 

“Oh my god with you both shut up before I shut you up?” Valentine’s last man standing groans. “I’ll leave him here.” He nods toward Magnus. “But you’re coming with me. Valentine will be very pleased to get his hands on you after all this time.”  
  
“I bet he will,” Alec agrees, shooting Magnus one last apologetic glance as he readies himself to be forced out by gunpoint. 

What he isn’t counting on is Magnus, who awkwardly shifts to his feet and hurls himself at the armed man when he passes next to him, chair and all. It sends them both tumbling to the concrete below and the gun drops with a clatter. 

Alec is on it in an instant, but instead of using it he brings his elbow down hard onto the man’s temple as he attempts to scramble to his feet, knocking him out cold. Allowing himself a few quick, sharp breaths, he grabs a small swiss army knife from his back pocket and goes to work on the ropes. 

“Are you alright? Did they hurt you, is anything broken?” 

“You mean besides my pride?” Magnus mutters, and Alec can’t help but let out a surprised laugh. The ropes fall to the floor and Magnus slides off of the chair and sits himself upright on the ground. “Thank you.” 

“Thank-- Magnus, I nearly got you killed tonight. Please don’t thank me.” Alec doesn’t meet his gaze. 

“But you came for me,” Magnus points out. “You didn’t have to.” 

“Of course I did, I-” but he stops short. He isn’t going to say it, because it doesn’t matter now. He got Magnus kidnapped. His cover is blown. He’s ruined both of their lives in one fell swoop. “I’ll talk to my boss, arrange to get you set up somewhere nice. You can’t stay here now, now that they know... fuck, I’m so sorry, Magnus.” 

Magnus considers this. “...and what about you?” 

“What about me?” 

“Well, they know where you are too, now. What if, oh, I don’t know, we both lay low for a little while… together?” Magnus raises an eyebrow and Alec meets his steady gaze with an incredulous look. 

“Why?” 

“Because I quite liked Gideon,” Magnus admits. “And something tells me that Alexander isn’t half bad, either.” He pauses. “Plus, you really expect me to move to a new city where I don’t know anyone and hide away all alone? That hardly seems fair to me.” 

Alec can’t believe what he’s hearing. He’s smiling like an idiot, though, because Magnus doesn’t want to leave him behind. 

“I can certainly pass along your request,” he agrees eagerly. 

Maybe, he dares to hope, this doesn’t have to end in heartache after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) )


End file.
